Loves Recognition
by Laced with Cyanide
Summary: Forced into a situation by a certain sister, Pan and Trunks are not sure how to handle feelings that are arising...or have they been there all along?
1. How it Began

Well...hello there. This Is my first DB fanfic.  
Rated "PxT" for PanxTrunks themes.  
at any rate, if you like then Review by all means.  
Thanks ;D

- **Laced with Cyanide**

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01**

**How it Began**

The sounds of rejoicing and celebration filled the air, people were talking loudly and laughter seemed to ring at every opportune moment. It was a truly a day of celebration at Capsule Corp. but what was the reason?

Pan and Bra had graduated at last.

Gohan and Videl were having an animated conversation with Bulma and Chi Chi and Vegeta sat in the corner with a deadly brooding look on his face, though a hint of a smile gathered at the corners of his lips every few minutes or so. He had already congratulated his daughter before anyone had arrived and, though he didn't show it, he was extremely proud; he had always been proud of Bra. The two girls in question sat together on the couch, Trunks and Goten on either side of them, the TV entertaining them as their family members boasted to one another.

"Ahhhhh," breathed Bra, a satisfied look on her face, "Finally! We're free at last!"

"Isn't it great," agreed Pan in that same relieved tone,

"You know what this means don't you?" said Bra slyly, a familiar glimmer in her eye, Pan sighed, predicting her words "we're women, and women get…"

"Don't make me say it," moaned Pan,

"Men!" She exclaimed, more than making for her friends lack of interest in the subject,

"No, Bra, this means we don't have to look at another calculus sheet ever again, I much prefer that viewpoint"

"And instead we see men!" continued Bra almost as though Pan hadn't spoke. Pan sighed, already irritated by whatever future situations Bra planned on dragging her into,

"I wouldn't speak too soon," laughed Trunks who had barely said a word up until now. Bra looked at him oddly, cautious looks in her bright blue eyes; "since I've relinquished any claim on the company, guess whose next in line?" a mischievous smile played on his lips, Bra's face fell,

"You did _what_?!"

"You heard me"

"How could you do this to me?"

"Better you than me"

"You know I'm not cut out for that stuff!"

"And what makes you think I am?"

"Why you-" she growled, Pan and Goten laughed loudly at this argument, enjoying Bra's now reddened face. Bra turned to her friend with a betrayed look, "help me out here Pan!" she begged but Pan just gave her a helpless look.

Bra stared at her feet in defeat, her day ruined by this. Pan sighed, guilt suddenly running thick through her veins; she had known how much Bra had looked forward to this freedom, only for it to be stripped away from her so suddenly, it made Pan sad that her own freedom would remain untainted by responsibility…for now anyway. Pan put her arm around her friends shoulder comfortingly,

"It's okay, I'm sure Bulma will help you, she won't make you suffer too much"

"That's beside the point," sulked Bra. Pan was silent a moment, unsure of how to cheer her troubled friend up,

"Oh, c'mon Bra, lets go do something, anything you want," there was silence for a moment as she considered this, her sulking stopping enough for her to mull over the possibilities,

"_anything_?" she repeated, emphasising the word in a frightening way. Trunks and Goten gave each other a wary look as they saw the mischief in their young companions face. Pan felt something inside of her turn as she heard her friends tone, fear settled at the pit of her stomach,

"Uh…" she began hesitantly, "sure…" Pan regretted those words the moment they had passed through her lips because at that very moment she was whipped away before she could register just what had happened. She was being dragged through the door, it only sliding open just in time for Bra to drag her through it.

The sound of Bra's giggles seemed echo demonically, haunting Pan's ears.

**O_______o**

Trunks gave the door another nervous glance, worry etched onto his features,

"Chill out," growled Goten, "You're making me nervous"

"Aren't you worried?"

"What harm could your sister do? Compared to Pan she's as dangerous as a hamster"

"Hamster… more like snake" mumbled Trunks; preoccupied. Goten sighed and Trunks withdrew his gaze from the door; Goten was right, what harm could she possibly do?

It seemed as though he had only just relaxed when the door finally slid open. Bra came out, looking more beautiful than she had ever looked before. Her face was done in a way that made her look like a model; Bra had always been talented with make-up. Her strapless Blue dress rode frighteningly close to her hips as her legs were bared for the world to see, or more for Goten's drooling gaze. Trunks looked at his friend, betrayed and disgusted by the look in his eyes; he growled. Trunks elbowed him in the side, making him yelp in his immense pain. Bra giggled at this,

"Bra!" reprimanded Trunks; shocked, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Going out," said Bra smiling her sweetest smile,

"Hey, Trunks," she sang, "I want you to pay very close attention to this, there is something you just absolutely _have_ to see" Trunk grunted disapprovingly, but he didn't take his eyes away from his inappropriately dressed sister, his anger bubbling up inside of him. Bra disappeared behind the door for a moment as she went to collect whatever it was she wanted to show off. There was a hissing noise as two girls whispered to one another, their hissing whispers were so hushed that Goten and Trunks had trouble making it out,

"There is no way in hell I am going out there!" hissed Pan, her frustration carried in her tone

"Why on earth not?!" Whined Bra,

"My uncle's out there!"

"Oh please, you're barely showing anything"

"I'm showing enough"

"Don't be a spoil sport"

"Hey, I warned you that I didn't want to do this"

"But you said that you would do _anything_!"

"You can't expect me to stand by that promise when you take it this far"

"You wouldn't lie to me would you?" There was a moment of silence followed by a string of violent mumbling that could only be described as self invented curses. Whatever Bra had done in that short moment of silence, it had worked.

The door opened.

For Trunks, the world seemed to slow, a woman walked out, her long, straight, silky black hair hung around her shoulders like a waterfall, her bright red lips made her look frightened as they hung open, unsure of what to expect from her audience and her already dark eyes seemed even darker as they were framed by dark lashes and intentional dark lines. Her skin was a consistent creamy white and it almost seemed to glow beneath the roof lights that just so happened to be directly above her. Her dress was simple; black and loose as it hung from of her body falling somewhere above her knees, a long piece of fabric was wrapped around her waist to show her suddenly obvious womanly shape and her feet were clad in black satin slippers for what Trunks could only assume was because of her complete inadequacy in high heels. But the Goddess before him was not the little girl he once knew and that innocent image would forever be tainted with the image he saw now. Though whether that was a good or bad thing was something he couldn't even hope to decide right now.

There was a silence that seemed to stretch on forever,

"Pan!?" scoffed trunks, his voice seemed to falter as he choked on the word. The silence was broken with his voice and he felt an elbow strike his side,

"Trunks!" growled Goten, "That's my niece!" Trunks composed himself and cleared his throat,

"Bra, what have you done?" he said gruffly, trying not to look directly at Pan, feeling wrong just by doing so,

"I fixed her"

"You broke her more like," he said in the same gruff tone,

"Panpy, did you hear that?" said Bra in her most sulking voices, "Trunks thinks you're ugly"

"N-no I don't!" He said defensively, looking at her again, waving his arms wildly in an attempt to convince her. Their eyes locked for a moment, her wide dark ones with his bright blue ones. He swallowed, looking away as fast as their trance would allow,

"I'm kidding!" chimed Bra "You know she's sexy, right Trunks?" He remained silent, his eyes closed, refusing to look at anyone. Bra laughed.

Bra sat next to Goten, leaving a space next to Trunks for Pan. Pan looked at her oddly,

"But Bra-"

"Just sit, he deserves the embarrassment," Trunks eyes snapped open, and glared at his sister,

"This is about Capsule Corp.?!"

"Not really, but it seems to be working very well for me regardless"

"Oh can we just shut up about it already?!" hissed Pan, finally annoyed by all the attention. She plonked herself down on the couch with some emphasis and she felt Trunks entire body stiffen as she sat next to him,

"Well," announced Bra, standing up only moments after she had accomplished making Pan sit next to Trunks, "I need to tell mum something" she ran off and out the door and Pan released the breath she had been holding, relieved that she could sit in the middle, away from anyone. She was just about to shuffle into the middle when Goten sat where Bra had only seconds before, a confused look on his face. He lifted her arm, examining,

"What did she do to you exactly?" He said laughing, "you even got Trunks blushing!" Trunks stood up defiantly,

"I am not!" he said a little too defensively, a blush stained his cheeks,

"You are to!" teased Pan, "That is so cute" Trunks glared at her,

"Pan, I'm blushing because I'm angry, I mean, not blushing; blood rushing to my face"

"That would be blushing," she continued,

"But not because of you" Pan smirked, and stood up, close to him. She had done this many times before when she challenged him but this time it was different. He looked away, stumbling back, Goten laughed as did Pan, Trunks only gritted his teeth as he stared at the door, waiting for some kind of distraction.

The door slid open and in walked Bulma and Videl.

Pan gawked at her mother as she stared back at her daughter. Videl giggled,

"M…mum?!" she stuttered, unable to comprehend what Bra had done,

"Hi sweetie"

"Hey Pan" smiled Bulma. Pan walked up to her supposed friend, her angered emotions clearly depicted in her stride,

"Uh, Bra," she hissed, "what are you doing?"

"Going through the proper procedures"

"What has that got to do with my mum?"

"Bra says you want to go clubbing," stated Videl simply,

"I…I…what?" stuttered Pan, unable to comprehend what was happening, or what her mother was saying,

"Yeah," interrupted Bra, "me and Pan, we want to celebrate our first night of freedom on the town"

"Sweetie, I just don't think it's safe," said Videl, Pan's face contorted at this,

"I'm stronger than any human man," she hissed, she wouldn't be called weak by her own mother,

"Oh, I know that, it's more that I don't trust you, I'm sure that once you get some alcohol into you won't be able to make the right decisions"

"It's fine!" announced Bra, "Trunks and Goten will look after us"

"Nu uh!" yelled Goten, "my girlfriend would kill me if I went clubbing"

"That's okay, we still have Trunks…Right Trunks?" Trunks only glared at them,

"Is this true Trunks?" Videl and Bulma looked at him, trust in their eyes, he grinned and scratched the back of his head nervously, he could feel the pressure they were putting on him,

"Uh, of course!" and he regretted those words immediately, there was no way he could control his little sister, or Pan for that matter.

To be continued…

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**5 Reviews and then I will continue.  
**Those who have read my previous stories know the drill.


	2. Riding in Cars with Boys

And BACK.  
Oh, would you look at me pretending that I didn't just go on hiatus for an entire year.  
Aren't I just a little rascal?  
(But, no really, apologies and props to anyone who waited, there will be candy at the save point)

**- Laced with Cyanide**

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**02**

**Riding in Cars with Boys**

The carport seemed colder than ever that night, well, to Pan anyway.

It was winter and yet she stood beneath the shelter of a Capsule Corps. Driveway without pants or shirt. instead a small string of cloth, smaller than her towel, covered her body, aided by a layer of cosmetics staining her face. But she wasn't just exposed to the icy breeze that blew through the cement tunnel, two eyes were fighting to look away.

Trunks also stood in the driveway, standing stoic against the wall, preparing himself for the mission ahead: keeping two girls out of trouble. His sister was one thing; she was sure to be taking advantage of every opportunity night life had that night, but the unexpectedly dazzling Pan was sure to be taken advantage _of_, and not just by Bra.

He already knew the dangers that were ahead of her, he'd been out on the town enough with Goten to know what kind of dangers that she would be exposed to, if anyone felt anything towards her that he felt now, then she in trouble. He suddenly felt very protective of his little sparring partner and a little...territorial?

Because he knew he couldn't hide it, everyone had already guessed it, his eyes seemed to attack her visage with every opportunity and he couldn't stop himself. She was more beautiful than any creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Who knew the Son family had this kind of beauty residing in their genetics. Sure he'd seen pictures of Chi Chi and Videl when they were each young, but surely Pan had to be the most beautiful, even if she had hidden it so well behind jeans and T-shirts, messy hair and a tough talking attitude.

Maybe that had just made her all the more beautiful to him now.

Maybe he had just needed this one push to realise how much he wanted her.

But he could never allow it.

All his life Pan had been like a little sister and in turn his little sisters best friend. He'd always gone out of his way to protect her, just as he might have Bra had she been in some of the situations Pan had been. Maybe he had been protecting her for other reasons too...

No, he reprimanded himself. He could not let himself take that road.

Meanwhile Pan too lent against the cold cement walls, gritting her teeth in both frustration and an overwhelming feeling of woe. Why her? Why did Trunks continue to look her way and why did she feel embarrassed? He couldn't be looking at her for more than curiousity, so why did she feel her cheeks warm with every uneasy glance of his. He didn't like her dressed like this, his expression of distaste was enough to convince her.

A noise.

The carport door burst open to the situations catalyst, the reason for the awkward atmosphere in this small breezy room. Bra wore maybe even less than Pan, but the cold or embarrassment didn't seem to affect her at all, if anything she seemed to be enjoying it. In her hand was her purse,

"IT'S OKAY,she giggled, 的 found it,but her exuberance was halted for a moment from the cold and unamused stares of her audience. Pan looked in torment and Trunks merely glared at his little sister, as always, the cause of his problems. She was like snake, she didn't kill you immediately, she liked to see you struggle from her venom before eating you whole.

She was a monster.

Bra skipped to the small car she had been given for her sixteenth birthday, Trunks looked up with interest for the first time that night,

"We're not going in _that_ are we?he scoffed

"Of course we are, it's _my_ car"

"I can see that,he muttered, 澱ut there's three of us,she smiled mischievously, sinking Trunks stomach,

"Looks like somebodies going to have to sit on someone's lap"

"Who's driving...he asked, he already knew the answer, but asked out of hope,

"Why m-"

"I'LL DRIVE,came a quick cry from the side, Pan had her hand up, shifting her dress a little too high, Trunks noticed, but maybe she had saved him,

"Nonsense,she growled, 的 wouldn't trust my baby with you ever"

"What about me?asked Trunks, losing control of the situation,

"You're our designated driver, you'll get your chance"

"But-"

"I'm driving!she declared before anyone could interrupt her further,

"There's no way I'll let you do this to us, Bra, I'll tell mum, I really will"

"What? That you'll be sitting in the wonderful, beloved, trustworthy Trunks lap to keep you safe? Pan, you travelled with the boy for _months_, I don't think she'll mind a fifteen minute drive into town,Pan understood that what she said was true, and so did Trunks,

"Why do you have to be such a goody two shoes, Trunks,she muttered almost to herself,

"I'm _sorry_he said, sounding sincere, Pan's words feeling harsher to him than usual. Pan looked up at his sudden submissiveness, 展hat?he mumbled, gripping his sleeve nervously,

"Nothing,but she _had_ noticed Trunks sudden...gentleness, somehow the beast had been tamed and she didn't want to think too far into it.

Pan stared helplessly as the pair squeezed into the tiny car, Bra into the drivers seat and Trunks into the passengers. She felt the sweat form on her palms as Trunks door remained open, waiting. Why was this happening? Just half an hour earlier they'd all been sitting happily on the couch watching TV, mucking about. How did it all go so terribly wrong? She could only dwell morbidly on her unfortunate fate as Bra grumbled to her about hurrying up.

She gripped the bottom of her dress in one more futile readjustment before climbing into the car. She noticed how close Trunks flustered face was as she fumbled in between his legs. It was a tight fit, the car was narrow and only just fit the two of them in the seat, but she was painfully concious of the closeness. She felt the car jolt violently as Bra started the abused little vehicle that had been rather new before Bra got her hands on it. Strong arms grabbed her waist instinctively but let go just as quickly. As her face glowed red there was a brief laugh from Bra who had noticed the gesture.

Trunks was beside himself, this would be a lot harder than he thought, he realised morbidly. They hadn't even left the property yet and he was already doing things he regretted, making a fool out of himself. He already noticed the closeness. This was too much, this was Pan, he kept reminding himself, but the image of that wild brat was gone, there was only a woman in her stead and he couldn't undo it. Something had changed deep inside him. Something important. It upset him as he refused to accept it.

If he could just get through the night, everything would be back to normal, he told himself, however uncertainty still unsettled his stomach, doubting this resolve. He felt his fingers itching to grasp Pan's waist again and he was filled with shame at the thought. He was so occupied by his thoughts that he failed to notice that they were already halfway there.

The car chugged along greedily as Pan sat there in that embarrassing position, every bump in the road made her dig her nails into her knees that little bit deeper, each itch she was unable to scratch became all that itchier and every second that passed she became more aware of the man behind her. She could feel that he felt just as awkward as he did, he seemed unnaturally still, as though he was trying to fade into the background, however she too was guilty of such behaviour.

She wanted to get out of there, it was too overwhelming. She didn't understand, or more, didn't want to understand why she was getting so flustered just by being so close to him. The shortness of her dress and mask of make-up on her face seemed to fade into the back of her mind as Trunks swirled through her head. She felt dizzy, unable to think clearly. She needed out.

And just then the car stopped and the world went silent, Bra had turned off the radio which had been blasting through the car. Pan hadn't even noticed.

She looked out of the window as saw their destination. A stylish rustic-inspired building squeezed between several others lit up in neon confronted her. The place was thick with people and she wondered vaguely if they would even make it in. The car door burst open and she flew out desperately. She composed herself and was again very concious of the length of her dress. She heard Trunks get out and stand next to her but she couldn't bring herself to look at him right now.

What was getting into her?

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**NO REVIEWS REQUIRED BECAUSE I WAS VERY IRRESPONSIBLE WITH MY UPDATES. PUNISHMENT FOR ME.**

I should update within the week, if not, feel free to savage me.


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